European Court bans the Cross
Yesterday’s ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, which has ordered the removal of crucifixes in Italian schools on the basis that they constitute "a violation of pupils' religious freedom" has sparked rage amongst Italian Catholics. La Repubblica reports that the Vatican has vehemently criticised this "ideological, short-sighted decision" while Silvio Berlusconi’s government has announced it plans to lodge an appeal. Opposition leader Pierluigi Bersani of the Democratic Party has also waded in against what he terms a breach of "common sense". In other Italian journals, Corriere della Sera sees this "symbol hunt" as hateful as the French ban on hijab for students. On an another note, political scientist Michele Ainis at La Stampa observes that "No law of the Italian Republic law prescribes the crucifix for schools" arguing that its presence is a vestige of the fascist era and symptomatic of the state's enduring deference towards the church.
In a time of crisis with high unemployment, young Lithuanians are following in the footsteps of their emigrant ancestors. Tens of thousands have left the country in search of a better life, mainly in the British Isles and Scandinavia. The weekly Veidas reports: 
The new Eurogroup meeting on February 9 is not enough to banish the spectre of a Greek bankruptcy. While Athens may largely be responsible for the crisis, the EU and its partners are not blameless themselves. La Stampa argues that their confused messages and the absence of any strategy have transformed a resolvable problem into an explosive chaos. 
Two camps, two theories, and two visions of France: 18 years after the massacre of 800,000 Tutsis, the precise role played by Paris is still the subject of heated debate, fueled by the findings of successive criminal investigations.